What finer way to celebrate a mother's talent as an artist than through a retrospective exhibition of her work?

That is the conclusion Sally, Joe and Jenny, children of the late Ruth Gibbons, came to when looking over the collection of some 150 oils she had painted in her lifetime, so they decided to hold a four-day exhibition at the Masterworks Foundation's Rose Garden gallery in the Botanical Gardens. The family whittled its choices down to 60 paintings, which are a mixture of Bermuda homes and scenes, as well as places Mrs. Gibbons and her husband Harold visited in the US, Europe and the Caribbean.

"Her works were always full of warmth, often with a favourite cat or something subtle in the foreground that would hold a special meaning," daughter Jenny said. Many were given as gifts to friends and family by the artist. None will be on sale in this exhibition.

Born and raised in Kitchener, Ontario, the former Ruth Hamilton was a graduate of Queen's University who also served in the Canadian Forces. As a young woman she visited Bermuda with her parents, during which she met her future husband. The couple married a year later in New York before returning to the Island to settle and raise their family. Bermuda so inspired Mrs. Gibbons that she soon began to develop artistically. Through needlepoint, crochet, sewing and decorating a personal style emerged, but it was not until the family moved to 'Girvan' in Paget in 1963 that she became a serious painter, working from a small studio on her home's second floor, with its splendid views of Hamilton harbour.

For the next 50 years, the artist painted images she had captured on film both here and abroad. Only once did she show a painting publicly, and at the time of her death she left both finished and unfinished works behind in studios also here and abroad.

"In the end, Ruth painted for herself, and for the opportunity to give something of herself to her family and friends," her children said.

Now the public will have a few days in which to see some of Mrs. Gibbons' work. Following a small, private opening for close friends and family this evening, the exhibition will continue tomorrow, and Monday and Tuesday of next week. Admission is free. For gallery hours and further information see the Bermuda Calendar.